Table of Contents
In this chapter, we will document how to create custom desktops for ThinLinc users using the ThinLinc Desktop Customizer (TLDC). TLDC relies on freedesktop.org's standard and desktop environments like MATE and Xfce are examples of desktops that can be used in combination with TLDC.
Note that TLDC does not work with some desktop environments such as GNOME Shell (GNOME 3) since it does not have a traditional application menu.
The TLDC's core functionality is to build the application menus based on factors such as group membership, username and ThinLinc Profile. It can also add icons to the desktop of each user, based on the same premises.
The ThinLinc Desktop Customizer is a combination of a web-based administration tool and a command that is run at session startup for all users. It enables the administrator to decide what menu entries should be presented for specific users, and what icons should be made available on the desktop. Which menu entries and/or desktop entries are given to a specific user is decided based on the Linux group memberships of the user, the username and what ThinLinc Profile was choosen (if any).
Since KDE4 uses a different desktop configuration mechanism compared to older versions of KDE, icons added to the desktop using the ThinLinc Desktop Customizer will not be shown in KDE4. This can be solved by changing the "Desktop layout" setting of your KDE4 desktop to "Folder view".